Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Have you ever started reading one blog, then followed a link to another, then to another and another until suddenly you're smack in the middle of nowhere, enjoying a totally new blog and have no idea how you found it and you'd have to be like Hansel and Gretel with your trail of cyber breadcrumbs to ever find your way back again?

Well that's how I discovered Chelle at Crazy Thoughts when I was new to blogging and the first thing that I noticed was the sweet pictures of her daughter Becca and how much Chelle obviously loved being a mother. Then I enjoyed reading about her life as she and her family waited for the birth of her son Ethan and for a chance to move back to her Canadian homeland and soon I was hooked. She is officially a Regular Read of mine and I was thrilled that she was kind enough to agree to guest judge this month's Write-Away Contest.

Her family has lived in California and New Mexico but Chelle's husband J was recently offered a job in Halifax (doesn't that sound exciting? I mean Toronto is just Toronto but Halifax sounds like the edge of the earth!) so they'll soon be moving home to Canada. You can read more about their family history here, enjoy some of her pictures here or enter her week's worth of Great White North celebration giveaways here.

Like so many bloggers Chelle started her blog as a way to keep in touch with family living far away but as she got deeper and deeper into things she soon got her friends into the blogging habit as well and has now firmly established herself as a Real Momblogger. No turning back now!

Chelle loves to knit, loves her Mac in ways only Mac users can understand and is remarkable in that her blog is "entirely her own" from the words on the page to the code in the template. She designed the graphics and put everything together herself which makes me terribly envious as I'm going through a template redesign myself and have developed a strong admiration for anyone able to do it all themselves.

As an interesting note, one question I often ask other bloggers is if they think of themselves as a writer. I'm always interested in what their response is--for goodness sake is there anyone on the planet that writes as much, as profusely as a blogger? If quantity of words produced is part of the criteria then I think that puts bloggers first in line. Furthermore, is it fair that bloggers can suffer from writer's block but not be considered writers? It's like suffering through morning sickness or PMS but not being considered a woman. But you've caught me in a bit of a rant, where was I?

Oh yes--too many bloggers think their words are inferior to those reserved for print media and when I asked Chelle whether she was a writer she said,

"No, Yes, Maybe? lol. Really I am not sure. I do write, but the caliber is not what I would consider professional. A lot of times my mind just throws up all the thoughts and my fingers type like mad to keep up. I am just happy to relate to others out there. Nothing makes me more happier being a blogger than when someone comments or emails saying I helped them or made them feel sane."

To have your fingers flying with words, conveying emotion to those reading your sentences, well that sounds like honest-to-goodness writing to me!

While it's true that perhaps blog posts, by their immediacy, aren't not as polished as their printed counterparts that doesn't negate their existence. If you produce words in a way that communicates with another person you are a writer--can't guarantee that you're a good writer but a writer nonetheless. If you're looking for quality maybe the question should be: "Are you an editor?" Writing is one thing, editing another.

So now that I've spent three paragraphs arguing that my friend Chelle is indeed a writer I'll leave you with something else she said that proves she is also a mother. When I asked her about her plans five or ten years down the road she admitted that being a mom was her Dream Job and said: "In five years I will be taking my baby to kindergarten. How crazy is that? I will be car-pooling, blogging and learning. I hope to be all settled into our own house, have a garden and hang dry my clothes on a clothesline in the summer."

Sounds fabulous to me.

***

Congratulations to Victoria from Murrieta, California who won the beautiful blue and white flared serving bowl from YogaGoat in last Saturday's Giveaway. Thanks to all who participated.

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comments:

Great introduction to a "new friend." I related so well to your opening paragraph. There have been many times when I've followed links or blog rolls or random comments and ended up at a lovely blogging home with absolutely no idea how I got there. Very true!

And probably something only other bloggers can understand. My non-blogging friends and family think my "whole blogging thing" is rather odd. :)

I agree with "are you a writer?" I think if you take the time to communicate to an audience through written word then that makes you a writer. You might be good, you might not be but a writer you are. I had to struggle with that question because I used to not think of myself as a writer. Very interesting that you would mention that today of all days.

Great profile. Reads like something I'd see in the newspaper! The quality of some of the blogs I've found on a Hansel and Gretal trail (including scribbit and chelle's) blows my minds. We're reinventing the whole dang industry. Thanks to you both.